Summary

This study assessed the Dallas County Judicial Treatment
Center (DCJTC) in Texas. The DCJTC is a residential substance abuse
treatment center for drug-involved felony offenders. It provides a
treatment program of approximately six months in three major phases:
orientation, main treatment, and re-entry. Data were collected from
429 offenders admitted to the DCJTC between January and December
1998. During their first week of treatment, residents completed a
comprehensive intake battery that included (1) the Texas Christian
University (TCU) initial assessment, (2) the TCU self-rating form
(SRF), and (3) the TCU intake interview. The initial assessment gauged
mental status, background and psychosocial functioning, alcohol and
other drug use, and psychological status. The SRF assessed
psychological functioning, social functioning, and motivation for
treatment. The intake interview included detailed questions on the
resident's social background, family and peer relations, health and
psychological status, criminal history, drug use problems, and
behavioral risks for HIV/AIDS. Progress made during treatment was
measured by the TCU Resident Evaluation of Self and Treatment (REST)
and the TCU Counselor Rating of Client (CRC) forms. The REST included
all questions on the SRF, plus questions on offenders' perceptions of
the structure of the program and their experiences while in treatment,
an evaluation of the counselor, an evaluation of their own
personality, and ratings of group and individual treatment sessions.
The CRC forms rated residents on a set of attributes related to
residents' ability to benefit from treatment and indicated the extent
to which counseling activities with each client had focused on certain
activities.

Geographic Coverage

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Time Period(s)

Date of Collection

Study Purpose

This study assessed the Dallas County Judicial
Treatment Center (DCJTC) in Texas. The DCJTC is a residential
substance abuse treatment center for drug-involved felony offenders.
Opened in 1991, the DCJTC has a 228-bed capacity, including four
35-bed units for men and three 20-bed units for women. This program
represents the final and most restrictive sanction county and district
judges can impose before state jail or prison terms. No systematic
screening procedures were used to determine offenders' needs for drug
treatment or therapeutic intervention during the time period covered
by this study. The DCJTC is managed by Cornell Corrections, Inc.,
under contract from the Dallas County Community Supervisions and
Corrections Department. The DCJTC was designed as a therapeutic
community (TC). It provides a treatment program of approximately six
months in three major phases: orientation, main treatment, and
re-entry. Offenders advance through a hierarchical recovery sequence
in which they receive progressively more responsibilities and
privileges. This study's primary goal was to address the need to
assess and appropriately classify inmates' problems and monitor
service delivery and therapeutic progress to help ensure effective
treatment. The treatment episode was seen as a series of interrelated
events, each presenting an opportunity to collect data that could
improve the effectiveness of treatment. This study developed a set of
data collection instruments to be administered at regular intervals
throughout treatment. The regular use of these instruments was seen as
narrowing the feedback loop between stakeholders, program staff, and
program participants in order to improve participant selection,
classification, and the treatment process. These instruments were
administered to DCJTC program participants and used to (1) assess the
risks and needs that offenders present at admission, including
classification of drug dependence problems, (2) examine the short-term
impact of the TC on improvements in psychosocial functioning and
treatment motivation, and (3) determine whether it can be predicted
who will prematurely drop out of the program.

Study Design

Data were collected from 429 offenders admitted to
the DCJTC between January and December 1998. Many of the data
collection instruments used in this study originated in the Drug Abuse
Reporting Program (Sells and Simpson, 1976, Simpson and Sells, 1982,
1990). These instruments were modified more recently for use in a
project titled Improving Drug Abuse Treatment, Assessment, and
Research (Simpson, Chatham, and, Joe, 1993, Simpson, Dansereau, and
Joe, 1997). This evaluation system was adapted further in other
studies for use in residential correctional settings. Revisions to
these forms for this study included rewording items to reference the
six months prior to the commitment arrest as the time frame for the
collection of baseline information. During their first week of
treatment, residents completed a comprehensive intake battery that
included (1) the Texas Christian University (TCU) initial assessment,
(2) the TCU self-rating form (SRF), and (3) the TCU intake interview.
The initial assessment was a structured, counselor-led interview
completed within 24 hours of treatment entry and was divided into four
major sections: (1) mental status, (2) background and psychosocial
functioning, (3) alcohol and other drug use, and (4) psychological
status. Indication of severe mental impairment was gauged through four
questions adapted from the Mini-Mental Status Exam. Immediately
following the initial assessment, residents completed the SRF, a
95-item self-report instrument designed to assess psychological
functioning, social functioning, and motivation for treatment. A
counselor administered the intake interview approximately two to seven
days after the initial assessment in order to give residents time to
acquaint themselves with the program and staff. It included detailed
questions on the resident's social background, family and peer
relations, health and psychological status, criminal history, drug use
problems, and behavioral risks for HIV/AIDS. Progress made during
treatment was measured by the TCU Resident Evaluation of Self and
Treatment (REST) and the TCU Counselor Rating of Client (CRC)
forms. These instruments were administered at the end of treatment
months one, three, and six, linking them to major landmarks in
residents' treatment episodes: end of orientation, completion of the
90-day treatment plan, and completion of the discharge plan. The REST
included all 95 questions on the SRF and sections on offenders'
perceptions of the structure of the program and their experiences
while in treatment, an evaluation of the counselor, an evaluation of
their own personality, and ratings of group and individual treatment
sessions. The CRC forms were completed by each resident's primary
counselor. They rated residents on a set of 25 attributes related to
residents' ability to benefit from treatment and indicated the extent
to which counseling activities with each client had focused on certain
activities.

Sample

inap.

Universe

Drug-involved felony offenders in the Texas prison system
eligible to be admitted to the DCJTC between January and December
1998.

Unit(s) of Observation

Individuals.

Data Source

Data were gathered from self-administered
questionnaires completed by DCJTC counselors and program participants
and from structured interviews of program participants.

Data Type(s)

clinical data

survey data

Description of Variables

Variables include gender, admission date, discharge
date, discharge code, and treatment discharge code. Variables from the
initial assessment include mental status, date of birth, race,
residence in last month, marital status, education history, employment
history, sources of financial support, kind of health insurance, legal
status, degree of pressure felt from others to enter treatment
program, how important it was to patient to get treatment for
different types of problems, history of use of alcohol, marijuana,
opiates, cocaine or crack, speedballs, inhalants, amphetamines,
hallucinogens, sedatives or tranquilizers, and nicotine, history of
injecting drugs, how problematic alcohol and other drug use was in
past year, history of psychological problems, whether eligibility
criteria were met, and whether patient met any exclusionary criteria.
Variables based on initial assessment responses include whether
patient met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition,
criteria for being classified as dependent on or an abuser of alcohol,
cocaine, cannabis, or opiates. Variables from the SRF include answers
to the 95 items on the form and scales based on those responses for
self-esteem, depression, anxiety, decision-making, childhood problems,
hostility, risk-taking, social conformity, problem recognition, desire
for help, treatment readiness, and self-efficacy. Variables from the
intake interview include living situation prior to entering treatment,
number of children, what relationship was like with spouse/primary
partner and children in last six months, marital history, problems
experienced in elementary school, employment history, sources of
financial support in last six months, what adults patient lived with
during childhood, quality of parenting provided by mother and father,
number of siblings, relationship with family members in last six
months, role of religion in patient's life, number of friends in past
six months, number of friends who did not use drugs, characteristics
of friends (including criminal activities engaged in), relationship
with friends, and leisure activities. Additional variables focus on
criminal history (including arrests and reasons for arrests), age at
first arrest, income from illegal activity, arrests on drugs or trying
to get drugs, history of incarceration, current legal status, health
and psychological status, drug use history (including which drugs were
most serious problem and age at first use of different drugs),
frequency of use of different drugs in last six months and last 30
days, alcohol use history, problems caused by drug and alcohol use,
whether friends and family had undergone drug treatment, reasons for
using drugs and alcohol, number of times quit using drugs or alcohol,
previous treatment experience, whether family and friends would
support treatment efforts, patient's assessment of how successful
treatment would be, history of gambling, activities relating to AIDS
risk, attitudes toward AIDS, and counselor assessment of patient,
including physical and mental health and the areas in which the
counselor thought the patient was in most need of treatment. Variables
from the REST and CRC forms appear three times, once for each
administration of the forms (at one month, three months, and six
months after admission). Variables from the REST include answers to
the 95 items that appear on the SRF, patients' ratings of treatment
program features, their own participation in therapeutic groups,
counselors' attitudes and behavior, their own attitudes and behavior,
group counseling sessions, individual counseling sessions, and the
amount of time devoted to different issues in the group and individual
sessions, date of admission of form, and counselor who administered
the form. Variables based on answers to the REST include the same
scales derived from answers to the SRF along with scales measuring
patients' perceptions of program structure, staff empathy, peer
support, therapeutic sessions, treatment engagement, personal
progress, trust in staff and other patients, counselor competence, and
counselor rapport. Variables from the CRC include answers to 25
questions that rate patient attributes, answers to 23 questions about
the focus of treatment with the patient, date form was completed, and
counselor who completed the form.

Response Rates

For the initial assessment, 419 forms were
collected of a possible 428 (97.9 percent). The sample originally
included 429 offenders, but one was discharged prior to admission to
treatment. There were 421 Self-Rating Forms collected of a possible
428 (98.3 percent). There were 419 intake interviews collected of a
possible 425 (98.6 percent). For the Resident Evaluation of Self and
Treatment form, 399 of a possible 405 (98.5 percent) were collected at
month one, 349 of a possible 358 (97.5 percent) were collected at
month three, and 296 of a possible 307 (96.4 percent) were collected
at month six. There were 402 of a possible 415 (96.9 percent)
Counselor Rating of Client forms collected at month one, 353 of a
possible 371 (95.1 percent) collected at month three, and 300 of a
possible 315 (95.2 percent) collected at month six.

Presence of Common Scales

Many scales used in this study were based on those that
originated in the Drug Abuse Reporting Program conducted by Sells and
Simpson and later modified for the Improving Drug Abuse Treatment,
Assessment, and Research project by Simpson, Chatham, Joe, and
Dansereau. A measure for classifying risk of recidivism was modeled
after the Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form. Measures of patients'
perceptions of program structure and their treatment experience were
adapted from the Client Self-Rated Progress Checklist. Other scales
used in this study were the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth
edition, the Mini-Mental Status Exam, the Pearlin Mastery Scale, the
problem recognition, desire for help, and treatment readiness scales
developed by Joe, Knezek, Watson, and Simpson, the TCU HIV/AIDS Risk
Assessment, and several Likert-type scales.